Criteria for Accreditation
An overview of the accreditation process can be found on the Higher Learning Commission Web site. A direct link to the document appears below:
Institutional Accreditation: An Overview (PDF: 11 pages, 240K)
To be accredited by the Higher Learning Commission an institution of higher education has to meet certain standards in five criteria. It is the purpose of SSC's Self-Study to address these criteria and to provide evidence that we have the attributes necessary for accreditation by the commission.
The Criteria for Accreditation are organized under five major headings.
- Criterion 1: Mission and Integrity
- Criterion 2: Preparing for the Future
- Criterion 3: Student Learning and Effective Teaching
- Criterion 4: Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge
- Criterion 5: Engagement and Service
Each Criterion has three elements: Criterion Statement, Core Components, and Examples of Evidence.
Criteria Statements define necessary attributes of an organization accredited by the Commission. An organization must be judged to have met each of the Criteria to merit accreditation.
An organization addresses each Core Component as it presents reasonable and representative evidence of meeting a Criterion.
Criterion 1: Mission and Integrity
The organization operates with integrity to ensure the fulfillment of its mission through structures and processes that involve the board, administration, faculty, staff, and students.
Core Component 1a
The organization's mission documents are clear and articulate publicly the organization's commitments.
Core Component 1b
In its mission documents, the organization recognizes the diversity of its learners, other constituencies, and the greater society it serves.
Core Component 1c
Understanding of and support for the mission pervade the organization.
Core Component 1d
The organization's governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the organization to fulfill its mission.
Core Component 1e
The organization upholds and protects its integrity.
Criterion 2: Preparing for the Future
The organization's allocation of resources and its processes for evaluation and planning demonstrate its capacity to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its education, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
Core Component 2a
The organization realistically prepares for a future shaped by multiple societal and economic trends.Core Component 2b
The organization's resource base supports its educational programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.Core Component 2c
The organization's ongoing evaluation and assessment processes provide reliable evidence of institutional effectiveness that clearly informs strategies for continuous improvement.Core Component 2d
All levels of planning align with the organization's mission, thereby enhancing its capacity to fulfill that mission.
Criterion 3: Student Learning and Effective Teaching
The organization provides evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission.
Core Component 3a
The organization's goals for student learning outcomes are clearly stated for each educational program and make effective assessment possible.Core Component 3b
The organization values and supports effective teaching.Core Component 3c
The organization creates effective learning environments.Core Component 3d
The organization's learning resources support student learning and effective teaching.
Criterion 4: Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge
The organization promotes a life of learning for its faculty, administration, staff, and students by fostering and supporting inquiry, creativity, practice, and social responsibility in ways consistent with its mission.
Core Component 4a
The organization demonstrates, through the actions of its board, administrators, students, faculty, and staff, that it values a life of learning.Core Component 4b
The organization demonstrates that acquisition of a breadth of knowledge and skills and the exercise of intellectual inquiry are integral to its educational programs.Core Component 4c
The organization assesses the usefulness of its curricula to students who will live and work in a global, diverse, and technological society.Core Component 4d
The organization provides support to ensure that faculty, students, and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly
Criterion 5: Engagement and Service
As called for by its mission, the organization identifies its constituencies and serves them in ways both value.
Core Component 5a
The organization learns from the constituencies it serves and analyzes its capacity to serve their needs and expectations.Core Component 5b
The organization has the capacity and the commitment to engage with its identified constituencies and communities.Core Component 5c
The organization demonstrates its responsiveness to those constituencies that depend on it for service.Core Component 5d
Internal and external constituencies value the services the organization provides.
Seminole
State College